Hanger for sliding doors



July 9, 1940.

R. L. LONG 7,322

HANGER FOR SLIDING DOORS Filed Feb. 25, 1959 2' EAL/ H 1. 10/96,

INVENTOR.

3d ATT'OR E Patented Jilly 9, 1940 mzo STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,207,322 HANGER. FOR snmme noons Ralph L. Long, San Diego, Calif.

Application February 25, 1939, Serial No. 258,446

3 claims. (01. 20-19) This invention relates to a hanger means for slidable doors.

Among the objects of the invention are; to simplify and lower the cost of the hanger means for a sliding door by making the track element for the hanger a part of the header or lintel construction of the doorway thus avoiding the extra expense and labor involved in constructing and installing a separate track element for the door hanger means: to provide a more perfectly concealed track means for the door hanging means; to provide a door Opening header construction that may readily have its side portions coated with plastering; to provide for building in not only the track for the door hanger but also a part of the hanger element that cooperates therewith, thus making the installing of the door proper a very quickly and easily performed operation; and to in other respects simplify and lower the cost of structures of the kind. to which the invention pertains.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a door hanger means whereby broader, more satisfactory bearing surfaces are afforded the bearing means.

Another object of the invention relates to a hanger construction for a slidable door which will be provided with improved means to keep the door in place upon the hanger member.

Still another object is to provide a more compact hanger means for slidable doors so that a plurality of doors slidable into an overlapping relation to each other may more conveniently be installed in a single door opening.

Other objects, advantages, and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates what is at present deemed to be a preferred embodiment of the invention as now reduced to practice:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the assembled structure, the mounted door being shown closing a door opening in a fragment of one of the partition walls of a dwelling.

Fig. 2 is a. vertical section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1, a part of the wall and of the door being broken away to contract the view, the parts being shown on a larger scale than in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a reproduction on a still larger. scale of a portion of the hanger structure shown in Fig;

2, except that additional parts are sectioned.

Fig. 4.- is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the door "I is of the slidable type and is of a kind suitable for use in a dwelling in situations where it is desired to avoid using a swinging door To the top portion of said door is secured near each vertical edge thereof a bracket H which -5 comprises basal flanges l2 firmly secured to the top of the door by means of screws l3, and a raised portion l4 furnished with a slot l5 opening out at one end of the bracket. Said raised portion M is dimensioned'to extend across the entire width of the door to which the bracket is secured, and therefore provides a gauge for positioning the bracket properly even though its basal flanges be narrower than the door.

Describing now the hanger means which cooperates with the bracket H to slidably suspend the door in its installed position, a headed, bolt like member ll of slightly less diameter than the width of the slot i5 is provided, said member ll having at its lower end a head l8 nearly spanning the space between the side walls i6 portion of the bracket.

A'rectangular seat Ma'in the lower side of the plate portion l4 receives the upper portion of the head l8 and aids in keeping the hanger in its operative position.

The upper portion of the hanger bolt ii is of a cruciate shape and has an open ended bore lla extending axially through its transverse part lie.

of the raised Said bore rotatabiy receives a cross pin it which opposite hub. By this arrangement, a bearing structure is provided wherein, owing to there being free working fits between the ends of the transverse part We and the hub ends, friction is limited to the bearing surface between the pin i9 and the surface of the bore through which it extends. I

It will, of course, be understood that the pin 69 will be put in place within the transverse part lie of the hanger bolt before the semispheres are mounted thereon in the manner stated.

. 50 Four equally spaced reinforcing ribs or webs w are shown positioned on the concave side of each of the semispherical shells.

A track means is provided for the hanger structure. This track is formed within the lower portion of a built-in header 25 forming the upper portion of the door frame and shown in Fig. 2 as being of a two-part wooden character. Each half of this wooden structure has a semicircular groove 26 formed in the inner face of its lower portion, said grooves registering with each other and thus providing a circular track or runway for the spherical portion of the hanger structure that has been described. The lower portion of the inner face of each of the grooved pieces 25 is cut away at 28, thus providing a channel somewhat wider than the lower portion of the hanger bolt or rod [1. The part of the hanger bolt which passes through the channel or isthmus thus formed is desirably rectangular as shown in section in Fig. 5. The head ill of the bolt is also shown as being rectangular. It fits with a working fit between the side walls l6 of the bracket.

The twin timbers which form the header 25 are secured to each other by any suitable fastening means, for example, the internal clips 250.

The header 25 is shown faced along each side with a layer of plaster 3|, the lower portion of which is covered by a trim strip 32. The underlying header strips 33 complete this part of the structure. Door jamb strips 3| are also provided.

It will be seen that by this invention a header which forms the upper part of a regular door opening frame is utilized to form a track for the hanger means whereby the door closure member is slidably supported. This feature lessens the cost of the structure by avoiding the necessity of supplying any factory made track member by which to support the hanger means of the door. When the carpenter puts the header in place, he can include therewith the assembled hanger members, leaving their heads l8 projecting slightly below the lower side of the header, as shown in Fig. 2. Then, before the trim pieces are applied, the door with its attached brackets II can be hung in a quick and easy manner and without the use of tools. This is done by alining the hanger member heads I8 with said brackets while the door is positioned close to and facing the door opening. Thereupon the slotted portions of top walls M of the brackets are moved transversely astride the hanger rods l1 and in an overlying relation to the heads l8 of said rods. Lastly the trim members are put in place at the sides of the door opening.

It should be understood that the present dis closure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the subject matter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a wall structure of a building having a door opening therein, a wooden header overlying said opening and having an internal channel cut therethrough to form a trackway, a restricted opening leading from the channel to the lower face of the header, hanger members positioned within the header to ride in the trackway with the lower portion of said hanger members extending through the restricted opening and beyond the lower face of the header,

a slidable door fitted within said door opening and provided with brackets on the upper D rtionthereof, said brackets provided with means whereby a lateral movement of the door within the door opening connects said door with the depending portions of said hanger members.

2. The combination with a wall structure of a building having a door opening therein, a wooden header overlying said opening and having an internal channel cut therethrough to form a trackway, a restricted opening leading from the channel to the lower face of the header, hanger members positioned within the header to ride in the trackway with the lower portion of said hanger members extending through the restricted opening and beyond the lower face of the header, a slidable door fitted within said door opening and provided with brackets on the upper portion thereof, said brackets provided with means whereby a lateral movement of the door within the door opening connects said door with the depending portions of said hanger members, and spaced strips underlying said header on each side of said restricted opening to hold said door against lateral movement.

3. An overhead support for slidable doors comprising a pair of timbers positioned to form a header over a door opening, said timbers each having a cutaway face portion in an abutting relation to that of the other, thereby forming a trackway, a restricted opening leading from said trackway to the lower face of the header, hanger members positioned within the header to ride in the trackway with the lower portion of said hanger members extending through the restricted opening and beyond the lower face of the header, a slidable door fitted within said door opening and provided with brackets on the upper portion thereof, said brackets provided with means whereby a lateral movement of the door within the door opening connects said door with the depending portions of said hanger members.

RALPH L. IDNG. 

